Table 4.
Type of pain studied, prevalence and assessment tools for AV-access pain
| Study | Timing and type of AV-access pain studied | Type of cannulation | Prevalence of AV-access pain (%) | Pain-assessment tool for AV-access pain | Pain-intensity results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aitken et al55 | Both acute pain (on cannulation) and chronic pain (between dialysis sessions, most days for at least 4 weeks) related to AVF | Rope-ladder, buttonhole | Any pain AP 25 CP 50 Severe (VAS >5) AP 24 CP 3.2 |
VAS, BPI, and MPQ | Pain on cannulation Median 3 (IQR 0.5–4.5) Severe pain 24.4% Between dialyses 0 (IQR 0–1) Severe pain 3.2% |
| Binik et al61 | Acute (current) pain related to fistula | Not reported | On HD 15 Dialysis pain reported by post-Tx 7.4 |
Structured interview and MPQ | On HD 3.6 |
| Bourbonnais and Tousignant57 | Acute needling pain from both insertion of needle and removal | Not reported | 12 | Not measured | NA |
| Calls et al43 | Both acute intradialytic and chronic pain related to vascular access Definition of chronic pain not reported |
Not reported | AP 21.9 CP 21.8 |
Not measured | NA |
| El Harraqui et al37 | Chronic pain associated with vascular access Chronic pain defined as pain of >3 months’ duration |
Not reported | 15.1 | Not measured | NA |
| Golan et al52 | Pain related to repeated dialysis access cannulation as a form of chronic pain (needle insertion in patients with a fistula or graft) | Not reported | 80.2 | Not measured | NA |
| Rodriguez Calero et al46 | Acute intradialytic assessment of pain related to vascular access | Not reported | 21 | Not measured | NA |
| Rodriguez Calero et al47 | Chronic pain related to vascular access | Not reported | 37 | Not measured | NA |
| Shayamsunder et al94 | Pain in ESRD patients treated with chronic HD, including acute intradialytic pain on needle insertion | Not reported | 78.4 | Not measured | NA |
| Vergne et al35 | Acute AVF (natural or PTFE graft) puncture pain | Rope-ladder | 57.5 | NRS | Low pain 79% Moderate 13% Severe 8% |
Abbreviations: AP, acute cannulation pain; AV, arteriovenous; AVF, arteriovenous fistula; BPI, brief pain inventory; CP, chronic cannulation pain; ESRD, end-stage renal disease; HD, hemodialysis; IQR, interquartile range; MPQ, McGill Pain Questionnaire; NA, not applicable; NRS, numeric rating scale; PTFE, polytetrafluoroethylene; Tx, transplant; VAS, visual analog scale.